The Archive

Manufacturing is hard. Pinball is hard and when you’re starting on the other side of the world from all the suppliers and skilled labour, it’s that much harder. COVID-19 did not help Haggis Pinball is the latest cautionary tale of a pinball start-up who promised big and initially delivered but ultimately succumbed to the pressures … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 40: Pinball Down Under Part 1: Haggis Pinball →

Multimorphic, Inc. manufactures the P3 Pinball Platform, a modern, physical-digital, multi-game pinball machine, as well as pinball machine control system products, such as the P-ROC and P3-ROC. Since 2009, Gerry Stellenberg and his crack team of engineers and software developers have created the first off-the-shelf pinball controller board for making your homebrew pinball machines, and changed the … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 39: Multimorphic Is Reshaping Pinball →

Silverball Chronicles with David and Ron Episode 38: By Golly It’s Bingo  Want to Support the Show? Visit Our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/silverballchronicles  or pick up a tee shirt at  Topic Begins at 12:12 Bingo just isn’t the game you can play at a country fair or a sketchy gambling establishment. Bingo is also the big … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 38: By Golly It’s Bingo →

Roger Sharpe is hailed as the Man who Saved the Game from our previous episode, but he did so much more! Roger has been involved in the birth of tournaments, the second rise of licensing, and mainstream journalism. He also has had a great film based on him and his relationship with his wife Ellen. … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 37: Yes… More Roger Sharpe →

We’ve fought long and hard to avoid giving Roger Sharpe yet another ego-building podcast to spin his narrative and propaganda… but, here we are. Roger wrote about pinball. Played pinball. Promoted and evangelized pinball. Roger has been involved in the birth of tournaments, the second rise of licensing, and mainstream journalism. He also has had … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 36: The Token Roger Sharpe Episode →

Silverball Chronicles with David and Ron Episode 35 – The Capcom Debacle Part 2: Illinois PinBall Inc. Want to Support the Show? Visit Our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/silverballchronicles  or pick up a tee shirt at  Episode Summary  Last month we learned about Capcom, the video game company who wanted to get into the pinball industry and … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 35: The Capcom Debacle Part 2: Illinois PinBall Inc. →

Silverball Chronicles with David and Ron Episode 34: The Capcom Debacle Part 1 Want to Support the Show? Visit Our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/silverballchronicles  or pick up a tee shirt at  Topic Starts at 8:27 Episode Summary  Capcom was a video game company who wanted to get into the pinball industry and ride a wave of … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 34: The Capcom Debacle Part 1 →

Topic Starts at 9:10 Episode Summary  Joe Balcer is a name that some people know, and some people don’t. Joe spent his early beginnings at Sega Pinball, then Stern Pinball, and he basically helped start Jersey Jack Pinball. He’d then he started up another company called American Pinball. Joe has been around; he’s worked for … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 33: Joe Balcer – The King Of Clunk →

Silverball Chronicles BONUS: Our Top Pins  Join Ron and Dave in this Bonus Silverball Chronicles episode as they choose their favourite pinball machines made by featured pinball designers from previous episodes! 

John Borg is known for his distinctive style and approach to designing pinball machines.  His design philosophy is as distinct as a fingerprint. ‘Borgie’ focuses on creating layouts that offer smooth flow and satisfying shots. He aims to design pinball machines that provide players with a sense of continuous motion and engaging gameplay. His layouts … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 32: The Bro Of Flow: John Borg Part 2 →

Gottlieb is viewed as the romantic electro-mechanical giant to many. The pinball machine atop the coin-op pedestal for all other manufacturers to reach for… but it was its god-tier status in the 1960s and early 1970s which would ultimately lead to its epic cratering in the 1980s.  What led Gottlieb into the Mylstar Nosedive? Was … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 31: Pinball Is Dying Part 4 – What Led Gottlieb To The Mylstar Nosedive? →

Silverball Chronicles with David and Ron Episode 30 – “Pinball’s Centenarian – Wayne Neyens” Want to Support the Show? Visit Our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/silverballchronicles or pick up a t-shirt at  Topic Starts at 9:10 Episode Summary  A Centenarian is someone linked to longevity, someone who has seen it all come and go, then be reinvented … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 30: Pinball’s Centenarian – Wayne Neyens →

Silverball Chronicles with David and Ron Episode 29 –– “Everything is Lit! Keith P Johnson and Jersey Jack Pinball” Topic Starts at 10:50 Episode Summary What can you say about Keith P Johnson? He has 4 of the top pinball machines in the Pinball Awards’ Hall of Fame. He coded some of the most revered … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 29: Everything is Lit! Keith P Johnson and Jersey Jack Pinball →

Silverball Chronicles with David and Ron Episode 28: Pinball is Dying Part 3 – Bally-Midway Want to Support the Show? Join Our Patreon and get early access to each episode: http://www.patreon.com/silverballchronicles Topic Starts at 11:11  Episode Summary  It’s time to revisit our ‘Pinball Is Dying’ series. This ongoing series is made to depress and to … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 28: Pinball Is Dying Part 3 – Bally-Midway →

Silverball Chronicles with David and Ron Episode 26: A Brief History of Pinball Want to Support the Show? Join Our Patreon and get early access to each episode: http://www.patreon.com/silverballchronicles Topic Starts at 10:03 Episode Summary A Brief History of Pinball is a great place to begin! Let’s wind the clock back WAYYY back. We’re going … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 27: A Brief History Of Pinball →

Episode Summary  George Gomez is the Creative Architect of pinball as we know it today. Without our Homie Gomie (trademark Zach Meny), Stern Pinball would not be the creative studio it is today. When Stern began to be rebuilt in the 2010s, it was the creative curiosity of George Gomez that enabled the company to … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 26: The Architect – George Gomez Part 2 →

Episode Summary The late 70s were a boom for pinball manufacturing. Bally and Williams had transitioned to Solid State early and evolved their platform, but Gottlieb struggled to keep up. However, by early 1980 Gottlieb knew they needed a new solution and were preparing their System 80 platform. System 80 was a big leap forward … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 25: Playing Catch Up: Gottlieb System 80 →

Episode Summary  It is often through failure that we learn and after the collapse of Stern Electronics, Gary Stern did not give up. He collected himself over a year and then would work with Joe Kaminkow and Shelley Sax on building Data East Pinball. Often the butt of jokes on quality, code depth, and artwork, … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep24: Data East – Fake It Til Ya Make It →

John Popadiuk, also known as J-Pop, created some of the most interesting and whimsical playfield designs of the 1990s. He went from a god tier Bally-Williams designer to a start-up pinball company owner and finally to a pinball pariah.  John once described his journey as “a long tale of woe in some cases, but also … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 23: Down The Rabbit Hole With John Popaduik →

Silverball Chronicles with David and Ron Episode 22: Mr. Nordman, Let’s Talk About Your Ramps Topic Starts at 8:38 Episode SummaryRamps are mesmerizing, hypnotic and create a excitement deep inside when you shoot them. You can almost feel the ball rolling around a bend in a ramp. Too many people Pinball IS Ramps. In fact, … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 22: Mr. Nordman, Let’s Talk About Your Ramps →

Episode Summary  There are many stars inside the pinball industry, but few create such an emotional ripple in the hobby when they pass.  Lyman Sheats gave so much for pinball and always wanted to give more. A perfectionist who was often too hard on himself, Lyman was always looking for ways to improve his games. … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 21: Inside The Mind Of Lyman Sheats →

The 90s saw the biggest leap in pinball mechanics and technology that the hobby had ever seen. The Dot Matrix Display and how Bally/Williams leveraged it, made the pins from the previous decade look like a horse and buggy. The purchase of Bally by Williams created a competitive shark tank, forcing designers and engineers to … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 20: Pinball Is Dying – Part 2: Bally/Williams →

Silverball Chronicle with Ron and David Episode 19: 80s Cheese Done Right – Gottlieb 80b Episode Summary  The early 1980s were a boon for pinball manufacturing. Bally and Williams had transitioned to Solid State early and evolved their platform. Gottlieb struggled with System 1, and as soon as they found their stride with the new … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 19: 80s Cheese Done Right – Gottlieb 80b →

The Bally-Williams Era has often been considered on of the most mechanically exciting times in the Pinball Hobby. In fact, many of the games of this era still carry a hefty resale price on the secondary market. The magic of pinball and the world under glass was brought to life by Bally-Williams. Many pinball personalities … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Episode 18: The Mechs That Made Us – 90’s Bally-Williams →

Episode Summary  When we last left Steve Ritchie, pinball was dead. It was done. Williams, gone. Bally, gone. Gottlieb/Premier, gone. The last manufacturer standing was Sega which ended up being sold to one Gary Stern and became today’s Stern Pinball Inc. Steve Ritchie was ready to make a return to pinball after a hiatus, but … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Episode 17: Steve Ritchie Part III: The Return…to Stern →

Episode Summary Pinball was suffering in the late 1990’s. Home gaming consoles dominated households. In the decades that preceded the 90’s, people ate at home and went out for entertainment; society was changing. As a result, arcades suffered. Pinball needed something to jump-start sales. They needed to draw in a new video game that would … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 16: Millennium Moment- Pinball 2000 →

Episode Summary Barry Oursler is a William institution. As a designer he kept the line going at Williams during the massive decline that the coin op industry experienced in the early 1980s. He designed 35 games including Space Shuttle, which ‘saved pinball.’ During the decade after Space Shuttle, Barry continued to design and collectively sold … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 15: Barry Oursler Saves Pinball →

Episode SummaryGeorge Gomez has created some of the most well received pinball machines our hobby has ever seen. He got his big break with Williams Pinball, but the current Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer of Stern Pinball had a big career before the silverball. His mixture of experience prior to pinball built his … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 14: Gomez – This One Has A Lot Of Arcade Stuff →

Episode SummaryPat Lawlor has a demeanor which has rubbed some the wrong way over the years. Let’s face it, as a designer you need to get strong personalities in line, meet corporate deadlines, push your creative vision to the edge and have the confidence in yourself that your product design will sell. Maybe part of … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 13: Pat Lawlor Part 2 – Williams Wreck’n Ball →

Episode SummaryBy the Early 1980’s Pinball was dying. Sales in Pinball fell from peaks of 9-10,000 units to 900 units in 2 years. Video was on an upward trend and that is where the coin op industry began to focus. Only 1 full time designer remained at Williams by 1982, Barry Oursler. To help fill … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 12: Pinball Is Dying: Williams In The Early 80s →

Episode Summary Dwight is one of pinball programming’s most important figures. Throughout the 1990’s Dwight worked on some of the best-selling games of all time, added a level of polish not seen before, brought a new level of fun and uniqueness that continue to influence programmers today. Have fun this month where we chat ‘Dwight … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 11: Dwight Sullivan – The Creation Of Complexity →

Episode Summary Pat Lawlor is a pinball statesman. He has a long lumbering and detailed way of explaining himself. This deep and controlled thought process is why Pat’s pinball designs and mechanical toys are so detailed and dedicated to being exciting. Some would call Pat a pinball academic, others say he’s a prickly fella. Join … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 10: Lawlor – Pinball’s Rollercoaster Tycoon →

Episode Summary John Borg or as he’s affectionately known as ‘Borgie’, entered the industry as a mechanical engineer building ramps and ended up being a designer on some of the fondest remember nostalgia pins of the 1990’s. Join Ron and Dave as they chat about Borgie got to hang out with movie stars, review some … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 9: Borgie – Living The 90s License Dream →

Episode Summary David and Ron are going to finish what they started last month. As mentioned in the previous podcast, from 1975 to 1980 Bally were breaking sales records. It seemed that Paul Faris’s art team could do no wrong but by 1981 the gaming industry’s footing was feeling shaky. In an effort to hold … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 8: Moving Units Part 2 – The Class Of 1981 →

Episode Summary David and Ron are here again this month to use an audio medium to talk about   visual art… will it work? Art sells Pinball machines. There was no better team ever in pinball as the Art Team at Bally. From 1975 until Bally was sold to Midway in 1983 an eclectic, creative … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 7: Moving Units – Bally’s Art Revolution →

Episode Summary Join David and Ron this week as they ride on a dirt bike made of quarters and fueled with pinball players’ tears with Steve Ritchie. Through this awesome time in pinball, the bestselling designer ever, continued to build his legacy and as you’ll see in this episode, redefined pinball as the industry struggled … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 6: Steve Ritchie – The Mullet Years →

Episode Summary Gottlieb was a giant in the pinball industry. Some would say that they created some of the most fun in the Electro-Mechanical era than all the other manufacturers combined. When the sea change of the Solid-State Era appeared on the horizon, Gottlieb the industry giant began stepping on rakes and never fully recovered. … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 5: Stepping on Rakes – Gottlieb System 1 →

Episode Summary Python Anghelo was an eccentric, passionate, charming, classically educated,combative, spiteful, and caring individual. He gave his all for pinball. Python is aguy who added social commentary to his back-glass art, added Easter eggs to his work, drank a lot, fought with leadership over creating unique worlds under glass.Python burned bridges, tossed insults, and … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 4: Bat Sh*t Crazy: The Python Anghelo Story →

Episode Summary Our Previous episodes have all been from the early solid-state era. The last 70’s and early 80’s was where the industry went though some of its largest shifts, we call that ‘disruption’ now-a-days. The exit of electro-mechanical pinball and the entrance of solid-state was a watershed moment in the hobby. Some companies excelled … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 3: Zombie Pinball – The Gottlieb System 3 Era →

Episode Summary Before Stern Pinball Inc., which dominates the pinball landscape today, there was Stern Electronics, our second episode’s topic. We cover where Stern Electronics came from, Sam and Gary Stern’s early years, Dave mispronouncing names, the change from electro-mechanical pinball to solid state, the sketchiness around that transition, legendary designer Steve Kirk, Stern’s wild … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 2: Stern Electronics…No, Not That Stern →

Episode Summary Our topic this week, nicknamed The King of Flow, the bestselling pinball designer of all time, my favorite designer, and the reason why you know or will know what Meniere’s Disease is: Steve Ritchie. This episode reviews the early life of Steve Ritchie until his first break from pinball in 1982 which includes … Continue reading Silverball Chronicles Ep 1: Steve Ritchie – Before The Mullet →